otipoju:


No all I am saying is that Pele is not infallible. You cannot construct a logical argument based on a fallible source. Pele's prediction did not come true and his opinion on messi and neymar was loaded with the sentiment of patriot.

Respect to Pele,but rossike cannot build a solid argument based on his opinion. It crumbles once it can be shown that he did not get it right just once as in the case of his prediction concerning an African team winning the world cup by a certain period.

Brianino:
...common shut dt ya dirty fangs...use ya outdated sense of reasoning pls..I HAVE A QUESTION 4 U..cud samuel eto'o play 4 bolton and win d african player of d year??ABSOLUTE NO..jst lyk benny mccarthy won two european cupz bt neva won d african best shws u hw playin 4 a bigger club matters..viz eto@r.madrid,barca,inter...yea..okocha preferred playin 4 a strugglin team 2 a bigteam cuz he believed in raisin d team frm mediocrity 2 d Elite and claim stardom..wich he did e.g bolton wer regular top6 contenders bt due 2 d lack of talent arnd him he suffered..shwin he wasnt dt wise..bt HONOURABLE IF THERES A PLAYER DT CAN DO MAGIC INSIDE A FOOTBALL PITCH ITS J.J.OKOCHA@GENIUS

ROSSIKE:


PELE KNOWS 100,000 TIMES MORE THAN YOU ABOUT WHAT MAKES A GREAT FOOTBALLER. He played alongside the likes of Jairzinho, Rivelino, Tostao, and Carlos Alberto. These are some of the greatest talents to have ever graced the game. Pele considers Okocha among the world's top 125 living players. The Brazilian coach, Mario Zagallo, who played alongside Pele, Garrincha, Vava, and Didi, and is credited with popularizing the bicycle kick ''shangallo'' in his heyday, ran across the pitch to salute Jay Jay Okocha after their game against Nigeria in Abuja in 2003, (some reports said he knelt and wiped Okocha's boots), saying that Okocha must be a Brazilian not a Nigerian. Now, YOU are a little kld who has probably NEVER heard of Zagallo, but these are the creme de la creme of football we're talking about. Football royalty. DO YOU THINK OKOCHA WOULD NOT HAVE STARTED IN ZAGALLO'S SIDE HAD HE BEEN BRAZILIAN? 100% definitely. SO WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT? ZAGALLO CLEARLY WISHED HE HAD JAY JAY IN HIS SIDE. SO YES, JAY JAY WAS A GREAT PLAYER. HE WAS A MASSIVE PLAYER. JUST LIKE PELE, IF THE GREAT ZAGALLO SAYS YOU ARE A GREAT PLAYER, YOU ARE A GREAT PLAYER.



PROVE THAT JAY JAY ''shied away'' from the 'big clubs'. Do you even know how offers and transactions are made with regard to player transfers? Show us where Jay Jay was offered a deal by a major club and he refused or STFU.

lurdabdaniels:
Guys let me add to this Okocha sees football as business then fun too so he was not bothered about his carer that was why he went to Turkey when players are going to real,barca,manu,munich, arsenal and so on but he went to a free tax country just because of money.

RealAlfranco:
I wanted to skip this topic because I was so sure it'll get me angry. I opened it and I wasn't disappointed... I got angry!
Jay Jay Okocha over-hyped? Who even thinks like this?
1. Can someone show me,with hard facts,top clubs that came after Okocha's signature and he shied away? Okocha was just unlucky. Despite his awesome talent,he was never given a look at. You'd think other 'great' players are better than him until you see him play against them. There you'll see the class difference oozing out of Okocha's play. Take Nigeria Vs Italy in '94-probably the guys calling Okocha over-rated never watched it or even a replay.
2. Never ever,everrrr say Okocha benched Ronaldinho,it never happened. Just as Giggs never benched Ronaldo at Man United. Okocha played as the number 10 at PSG,Ronaldinho skimmed from the wing(inverted left winger). Instead,the formed a deadly patnership together,its a shame they didn't win much together. Ronaldinho inherited Okocha's No10 jersey after he left for Bolton. Okocha mentored Ronaldinho and Mikel Arteta. Ronaldo slotted directly as Man nited's no7,because David Beckham left the club before Ronaldo came. Giggs and Ronaldo never crossed path. Thank You!
Abeg,I take God beg una. 'Mediocre' and 'Average' should not be used to measure Okocha as a player. The teams he played for(if una wan put Nigeria,you're on your own),yes,but not him! This niqqa was named as one of 125 living footballers of ALL TIME. That's no mean feat! Y'all should take a chill pill... In summary, Okocha is not,was not,and will never be overhyped.Niqqa was unlucky!!!

ShakurM:
I like ya but hold up, Now the notion is changed..we ain't talking predictions , we talking facts. Assuming he does state that Ronaldo or Messi aren't great, then we all can and should question his thinking.

toecyne:
It is sometimes very annoying wen some people say Okocha is the best footballer ever, and that he is not recognized becos he is Nigerian.
Some even say he is better than Ronaldinho because he benched Ronaldinho wen dinho was only 20, and was yet to adapt to european football. Y not just say giggs is also better than C.Ronaldo because he benched him wen he was new in Man United or that Guily is better than Messi because he benched messi wen messi was still very young

Yaya toure is an african nd he is leading man city, Eto was Barcelona top striker for abt 4 years and a nigerian also played for barca in the 1990s, mikel(a nigerian) was nearly thorn apart by man u and chelsea, they wanted him badly.. my point is african/nigerian or not, you would be rewarded accordingly and sought after if you are that good. Okocha is jst over hyped

MrNiceGuy5:

You just spoke my mind - Oko was just unlucky but no doubt , he is one of african finest player of his time

Kay17:


Okocha was a central midfielder, not a 10 as Totti, Baggio, Maradona, Riquelme and should be judged as same. He should be compared with Scholes, Rijkaard, Essien, Yaya Toure, Viera in terms of both his attacking qualities and defensive qualities. I don't think he really able to boss the midfield in the manner Yaya Toure does.

sukkot:
okochas soccer skills is best suitable for the circus. he had circus skills. kinda like the harlem globetrotters. there is a guy who was in the NBA like okocha. Jayson williams. a beauty to watch but not needed when a team is contending for the highest honors

toecyne:

Please list the personal and club achievement he has that people like Wilfred bony, Solomon kalou(ivory coast), Sessegnon of Benin have not surpassed. Drogba led chelsea to a champions league trophy, Eto scored in 2 uefa champions league finals and won three UCL, yaya toure controlled the flow of man city and led them to 2 premier league titles, all africans.Please who did okocha lead ?

sarutobie:

yet he captained Bolton to one of their highest finish (6th) in top flight English football?

justhelp:
Are you from Ghana or South Africa ?

sukkot:
[b]yeah he was a big fish in a small pond. some people only thrive in situations like that. that nigga can hardly kick the ball straight. always yaming shots over the bar or all over the field but the goal post. i am sure these are reasons why big clubs did not go for him. there are two types of soccer players. those who when they are on the ball, they know what they want to do, are purposeful about going for what they are doing and actually achieve what they set out to do. these types of players when they are on the ball you know you are in trouble. example of this type is thierry henry and messi. then you have the other types who when they are on the ball, if they do anything purposeful with it, its called a ' hail mary ' attempt. they are not purposeful or know what they are trying to do. they just start firing shots all over the place anyhow hoping and praying one goes in. thats called ' hail mary '. that is jeje okocha. the king of hail marys . soccer recruits know the purposeful players and the hail marys and there is a reason the big clubs did not come for okocha. he is the grand daddy of hail marys[/b]

IyfeNamikaze:


how would you rate Alan shearer? overhyped or underrated?

Kay17:


Okocha was a central midfielder, not a 10 as Totti, Baggio, Maradona, Riquelme and should be judged as same. He should be compared with Scholes, Rijkaard, Essien, Yaya Toure, Viera in terms of both his attacking qualities and defensive qualities. I don't think he was really able to boss the midfield in the manner Yaya Toure does.

MrPresident1:


Jay jay that rescued Nigeria from Cameroun in the Nations cup final of 2000 with his second half free kick goal (we lost the match on penalties), who also scored the winning goal against Cameroun in 2006 nations cup quarter-final, who single-handedly saved Bolton wanderers from relegation, na him U dey call king of hail marys abi?

Maybe U should check the goal he scored against Oliver Khan all over again!

toecyne:
It is sometimes very annoying wen some people say Okocha is the best footballer ever, and that he is not recognized becos he is Nigerian.
Some even say he is better than Ronaldinho because he benched Ronaldinho wen dinho was only 20, and was yet to adapt to european football. Y not just say giggs is also better than C.Ronaldo because he benched him wen he was new in Man United or that Guily is better than Messi because he benched messi wen messi was still very young

Yaya toure is an african nd he is leading man city, Eto was Barcelona top striker for abt 4 years and a nigerian also played for barca in the 1990s, mikel(a nigerian) was nearly thorn apart by man u and chelsea, they wanted him badly.. my point is african/nigerian or not, you would be rewarded accordingly and sought after if you are that good. Okocha is jst over hyped

ichidodo:
A 10 can be an attacking midfielder who is given a trequartista role in d hole before the strikers or a central midfielder that sits deep conducting play as an anchor....In asmuch as his defensive stats didnt amount to much,Okocha's main forte was his flexibility either as a trequartista or an anchor just like totti and scholes rolled into one person, back in the day that was a quality or technical attribute very difficult to scout in Africa.

sukkot:
i think this will be a fair and accurate accolade for jayjay >> THE MOST EXCITING AND SKILLFULL PLAYER TO WATCH, TO EVER COME OUT OF AFRICA

notice i said the most exciting and not the most effective CASE CLOSED

sukkot:
yeah he was a big fish in a small pond. some people only thrive in situations like that. that nigga can hardly kick the ball straight. always yaming shots over the bar or all over the field but the goal post. i am sure these are reasons why big clubs did not go for him. there are two types of soccer players. those who when they are on the ball, they know what they want to do, are purposeful about going for what they are doing and actually achieve what they set out to do. these types of players when they are on the ball you know you are in trouble. example of this type is thierry henry and messi. then you have the other types who when they are on the ball, if they do anything purposeful with it, its called a ' hail mary ' attempt. they are not purposeful or know what they are trying to do. they just start firing shots all over the place anyhow hoping and praying one goes in. thats called ' hail mary '. that is jeje okocha. the king of hail marys . soccer recruits know the purposeful players and the hail marys and there is a reason the big clubs did not come for okocha. he is the grand daddy of hail marys

MrPresident1:


Effectiveness is relative. Jay jay's job wasn't to score goals, his duty was to marshal the midfield, and provide critical supplies to the attackers, he did his job beautifully well. One of the best midfielders the world has ever known.

His job wasn't to score goals, but his goals were well needed

toecyne:
It is sometimes very annoying wen some people say Okocha is the best footballer ever, and that he is not recognized becos he is Nigerian.
Some even say he is better than Ronaldinho because he benched Ronaldinho wen dinho was only 20, and was yet to adapt to european football. Y not just say giggs is also better than C.Ronaldo because he benched him wen he was new in Man United or that Guily is better than Messi because he benched messi wen messi was still very young

Yaya toure is an african nd he is leading man city, Eto was Barcelona top striker for abt 4 years and a nigerian also played for barca in the 1990s, mikel(a nigerian) was nearly thorn apart by man u and chelsea, they wanted him badly.. my point is african/nigerian or not, you would be rewarded accordingly and sought after if you are that good. Okocha is jst over hyped

fhunn:



e bia kwa! Okocha can't kick a ball straight ask him to play a free kick or penalty kick and you'll here the goal keeper muttering O tan!!!
Did you ever watch that match btw Nigeria and Cameroon which was a tie till the final minutes of the match where the freekick the referee awarded Nigeria made the difference to the extent the free kick was called a "THUNDERBOLT" by the commentators.

Who played the free kick?

Jay Jay Okocha.